Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Chlorella”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 379 records · Page 21Linked to original sources

Analysis of 94 kb of the chlorella virus PBCV-1 330-kb genome: map positions 88 to 182.

Analysis of 94 kb of DNA, located between map positions 88 and 182 kb in the 330-kb chlorella virus PBCV-1 genome, revealed 195 open reading frames (ORFs) 65 codons or longer. One hundred and five of the 195 ORFs were considered major ORFs. Twenty-six of the 105 major ORFs resembled genes in the databases including three chitinases, a chitosanase, three serine/threonine protein kinases, two additional protein kinases, a tyrosine protein phosphatase, two ankyrins, an ornithine decarboxylase, a copper/zinc-superoxide dismutase, a proliferating cell nuclear antigen, a DNA polymerase, a fibronectin-binding protein, the yeast Ski2 protein, an adenine DNA methyltransferase and its corresponding DNA site-specific endonuclease, and an amidase. The genes for the 105 major ORFs were evenly distributed along the genome and, except for one noncoding 1788-nucleotide stretch, the genes were close together. Unexpectedly, a 900-bp region in the 1788-bp noncoding sequence resembled a CpG island.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Characterization of DNA-binding proteins and protein kinase activities in Chlorella virus CVK2.

Several capsid proteins were selectively released from the viral core of Chlorella virus CVK2 by treatment with 4M urea. Among the viral core proteins, seven species (Vp154, Vp73, Vp63, Vp52, Vp48, Vp42, and Vp25) were shown to have DNA-binding activities by Southwestern blot analysis. Except for Vp154 and Vp25, these DNA-binding proteins showed a specific affinity for the viral genomic DNA. The viral core also contained three proteins with protein kinase activity (Vp73, Vp60, and Vp37); Vp73 seemed to have both DNA-binding and protein kinase activities. Antisera raised against Vp73 were used to screen a lambda-CVK2 expression library for the gene encoding Vp73. Three different clones (Vp73-3, Vp73-29, and Vp73-42) were obtained and analyzed. ORFs found in these clones all contained characteristic proline-rich motifs. The Vp73-42 ORF showed a strong similarity with histone H1 of various organisms and the Vp73-29 ORF contained two regions with leucine-zipper motifs. All three genes were expressed late in infection.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

An early gene of the Chlorella virus PBCV-1 encodes a functional aspartate transcarbamylase.

PBCV-1 belongs to a family of large viruses that replicate in the exsymbiont green algae Chlorella strain NC64A. The viral, 330-kb DNA genome encodes a relatively large number of functionally active proteins including restriction and modification enzymes, DNA polymerase, glycosylation, and cell wall degrading enzymes. Sequencing of the viral DNA, now in progress, revealed many major open reading frames (ORF), which resemble known genes in sequence data bases and which have not previously been found in viral genomes. Here we report on the identification and characterization of one such gene, aspartate transcarbamylase (ATCase), an enzyme that catalyzes the committing step in the de novo biosynthetic pathway of pyrimidines. The cloned gene is highly homologous to a variety of plant ATCases and includes the typical ATCase catalytic motif. When cloned into the pGEX-2T expression vector, a fusion protein with ATCase activity could be demonstrated and distinguished from the host ATCase activity. The viral enzyme is expressed early and transiently in the infection. To our knowledge, this is the first virus known to encode and express its own de novo nucleotide precursors' synthetic enzymes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Proteolytic processing of Chlorella virus CVK2 capsid proteins.

Chlorella virus CVK2 particles contain several capsid proteins that are selectively released by treatment with 4 M urea. Seven of them (Vp52, Vp45, Vp41, Vp25, Vp20.5, Vp20, and Vp16.2) have been identified based on amino acid sequences at the N-terminus. Comparison of the amino acid sequences with the corresponding ORFs deduced from the nucleotide sequence of PBCV-1, the prototype member of Phycodnaviridae, revealed that the CVK2 proteins were processed at the N-terminal region by two different proteolytic activities.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Analysis of 74 kb of DNA located at the right end of the 330-kb chlorella virus PBCV-1 genome.

This report completes a preliminary analysis of the sequence of the 330,740-bp chlorella virus PBCV-1 genome, the largest virus genome to be sequenced to date. The PBCV-1 genome is 57% the size of the genome from the smallest self-replicating organism, Mycoplasma genitalium. Analysis of 74 kb of newly sequenced DNA, from the right terminus of the PBCV-1 genome, revealed 153 open reading frames (ORFs) of 65 codons or longer. Eighty-five of these ORFs, which are evenly distributed on both strands of the DNA, were considered major ORFs. Fifty-nine of the major ORFs were separated by less than 100 bp. The largest intergenic distance was 729 bp, which occurred between two ORFs located in the 2.2-kb inverted terminal repeat region of the PBCV-1 genome. Twenty-seven of the 85 major ORFs resemble proteins in databases, including the large subunit of ribonucleotide diphosphate reductase, ATP-dependent DNA ligase, type II DNA topoisomerase, a helicase, histidine decarboxylase, dCMP deaminase, dUTP pyrophosphatase, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, a transposase, fungal translation elongation factor 3 (EF-3), UDP glucose dehydrogenase, a protein kinase, and an adenine DNA methyltransferase and its corresponding DNA site-specific endonuclease. Seventeen of the 153 ORFs resembled other PBCV-1 ORFs, suggesting that they represent either gene duplications or gene families.

Chlorella↗

Group I introns found in Chlorella viruses: biological implications.

More than 80 group I introns were detected and characterized in Chlorella viruses isolated from various locations in Japan; the overall average frequency of viruses containing the group I intron was 8.0%. Although most of these introns were inserted in the gene for either transcriptional elongation factor TFIIS (approximately 60%) or URF 14.2 (unidentified open reading frame coding for a 14.2-kDa polypeptide) (approximately 40%), in a few cases, the gene for the major capsid protein Vp52 contained an intron. These introns were biologically active (self-splicing) both in vivo and in vitro. Viruses that contained introns almost usually contained only one, but more than two introns coexisted in several virus isolates. Nucleotide sequence analysis showed that the intron sequences have diverged under strong constraint of the exon genes: introns in the same gene showed more than 99% sequence identity, whereas introns in different genes were only 72-78% identical. Phylogenetic analysis suggested relatedness of these introns to those found in the rRNA genes of a variety of organisms including green algae, red algae, red algae, yeasts, fungi, and protozoa.

Base Sequence↗

The chloroplast genome of an exsymbiotic Chlorella-like green alga.

Chloroplast DNA was isolated and cloned from Chlorella, strain N1a, exsymbiotic with Paramecium bursaria. BamHI, SalI, KpnI and Xho I restriction fragments of the DNA were assembled into a circular map. The genome consists of approximately 120 kbp of DNA, has a G/C content of 38%, and contains only a single copy of the rRNA cistron. The rRNA cistron is small, 5000-8000 bp, and the 16S and 23S gene are separated by less than 2000 bp.

Chlorella↗

The mitochondrial genome of an exsymbiotic Chlorella-like green alga.

Mitochondrial (mt) DNA from the unicellular, exsymbiotic Chlorella-like green alga, strain Nla was isolated and cloned. The mtDNA has a buoyant density of 1.692 g/ml in CsCl and an apparent G/C base composition of 32.5%. The genome contains approximately 76 kbp of DNA based on restriction fragment summation and electron microscopic measurements. A map of restriction endonuclease sites using Sst I, Bam I, Sal I and Xho I was generated. The genome maps as a circular molecule and appears as such under the electron microscope. Eight genes were assigned to the map by hybridization to specific restriction fragments using heterologous mt-encoded specific probes. These include the genes for subunits 6, 9, and alpha of the F0-F1 ATPase complex, the large and small subunit rRNAs, cytochrome oxidase subunits I and II, and apocytochrome b.

Apoproteins↗

A nuclear gene with many introns encoding ammonium-inducible chloroplastic NADP-specific glutamate dehydrogenase(s) in Chlorella sorokiniana.

Chlorella sorokiniana possesses ammonium-inducible, chloroplastic, NADP-specific glutamate dehydrogenase (NADP-GDH) homo- or heterohexamers composed of alpha- and/or beta-subunits which were previously shown to derive from precursor protein(s) of identical size. From the present studies, data are consistent with these two subunits being encoded by a single nuclear gene. The NADP-GDH gene is greater than 7 kb in length due to the presence of at least 21 introns, an unusually large number for a eukaryotic microorganism. The exons, identified by comparison with sequences of NADP-GDH cDNA clones, include a region which is highly conserved among NADP-GDH genes. This region in the C. sorokiniana gene is 77% and 73% identical to the corresponding regions in the Escherichia coli and Neurospora crassa NADP-GDH genes, respectively. Seventeen independent NADP-GDH cDNA clones were analyzed by restriction mapping and partial sequencing, and no differences were detected among them. The longest cDNA was fused in frame with lacZ in a Bluescript vector and was expressed in E. coli as NADP-GDH antigen. During a 240 min induction period, under conditions in which both types of subunits were synthesized, only a single (2.2 kb) NADP-GDH mRNA band was detected on northern blots using cDNA probes from the highly conserved and 3'-untranslated regions. Collectively, these results are consistent with a single mRNA encoding a precursor-protein which is differentially processed to yield either an alpha- or beta-subunit.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Antitumor effect induced by a hot water extract of Chlorella vulgaris (CE): resistance to Meth-A tumor growth mediated by CE-induced polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

When a hot water extract of Chlorella vulgaris (CE) was injected into the peritoneal cavity of BALB/c mice inoculated with syngeneic Meth-A tumor cells, the survival times were strikingly prolonged. Furthermore, peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) rich in polymorphonuclear cells (PMN) obtained from normal mice 24 h after CE injection exhibited an antitumor effect in a Winn-type assay using normal recipients. Such an activity of PEC remained almost intact after T cell or macrophage depletion. However, such PEC did not express an antitumor effect in a Winn-type assay using irradiated recipients. It was suggested that CE-induced PEC, presumably PMN, expressed an antitumor effect in cooperation with a host- or recipient-derived element(s) sensitive to irradiation. The antitumor mechanism of CE may be different from that of OK-432, one of the biological response modifiers.

Animals↗

Augmentation of antitumor resistance by a strain of unicellular green algae, Chlorella vulgaris.

Growth of Meth-A tumor in CDF1 mice was inhibited significantly by injection of a hot water extract of a strain of Chlorella vulgaris (CE) into the tumor or into the subcutaneous tissue near the tumor. The augmentation of resistance by CE may require the participation of T cells and macrophages, since it was abolished or reduced in athymic nude mice or mice treated with carrageenan, a macrophage blocker. Mice treated with CE exhibited antigen-specific augmented resistance against rechallenge with tumor. Moreover, the antitumor effect of CE was comparable with that of Corynebacterium parvum, but its mechanism of effect might be different.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

Effects of organic solvents and solvent-atrazine interactions on two algae, Chlorella vulgaris and Selenastrum capricornutum.

When assessing pesticides toxicity on test organisms, the use of organic solvents is frequently required to formulate solutions of pesticides having low or moderate water solubility. These solvents may influence the results of toxicity tests. This study examined the effects of ethanol and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) on two species of algae, Chlorella vulgaris and Selenastrum capricornutum. The interactives effects of these organic solvents with various concentrations of atrazine were tested to analyse how these solvents can affect the toxicity of atrazine. Toxicity was measured as the change in chlorophyll (a) content (estimated via fluorescence) in cultures of the test organism that were incubated over a 96-h period at standard conditions of temperature and light. In the absence of atrazine, ethanol was toxic to both algae, yielding significant inhibition of chlorophyll (a) content at concentrations as low as 0.05%. Morever, S. capricornutum was less sensitive to ethanol than was C. vulgaris. DMSO did not show any toxic effects on either chlorophycea. At concentrations up to 0.5%, DMSO interacted additively with atrazine for both chlorophycea. An additive response was also observed with ethanol towards S. capricornutum. For C. vulgaris, ethanol interacted antagonistically at most of atrazine concentrations and gave few additive and synergistic interactions. An additive response of an atrazine-solvent mixture indicate the inherent toxicity of the atrazine. Since DMSO generally gave additive responses for both algae, it can be considered as an adequate organic solvent to use in bioassays.

Atrazine↗

Molecular organization of Chlorella vulgaris chromosome I: presence of telomeric repeats that are conserved in higher plants.

The unicellular green alga Chlorella vulgaris (strain C-169) has a small genome (38.8 Mb) consisting of 16 chromosomes, which can be easily separated by CHEF gel electrophoresis. We have isolated and characterized the smallest chromosome (chromosome I, 980 kb) to elucidate the fundamental molecular organization of a plant-type chromosome. Restriction mapping and sequence analyses revealed that the telomeres of this chromosome consist of 5'-TTTAGGG repeats running from the centromere towards the termini; this sequence is identical to those reported for several higher plants. This sequence is reiterated approximately 70 times at both termini, although individual clones exhibited microheterogeneity in both sequence and copy number of the repeats. Subtelomeric sequences proximal to the termini were totally different from each other: on the left arm, unique sequence elements (14-20 bp) which were specific to chromosome I, form a repeat array of 1.7 kb, whereas a 1.0 kb sequence on the right arm contained a poly(A)-associated element immediately next to the telomeric repeats. This element is repeated several times on chromosome I and many times on all the other chromosomes of this organism.

Base Sequence↗

The Chlorella H+/hexose cotransporter gene.

The complete genomic sequence of the inducible Chlorella kessleri H+/hexose cotransporter (HUP1) has been obtained from two overlapping clones isolated from a lambda gt10 library. The HUP1 gene is interrupted by 14 introns with the first intron being located in the 5'-untranslated part of the gene. The average intron length is 220 bp, yielding a very regular intron/exon pattern in the gene. The codon usage in this gene is strongly biased with a clear preference for C and a strong suppression of A. A consensus sequence for a putative algal polyadenylation sequence is shown and compared with other algal cDNA sequences.

Base Sequence↗

An intron in the 23S rRNA gene of the Chlorella chloroplasts: complete nucleotide sequence of the 23S rRNA gene.

A 243 bp intron was found within the 23S rRNA gene of the unicellular green alga Chlorella ellipsoidea. This intron is A+T-rich (63.7%) compared with the 23S rRNA (50.5%) and is located in domain II of the 23S rRNA. In contrast to rRNA introns so far known, this intron is considerably small and does not possess features of group I introns in spite of its possible folded secondary structure; this is a new type rRNA intron. The complete nucleotide sequence of the 23S rRNA gene (2,965 bp) was also compared with that of tobacco chloroplasts and E. coli.

Base Sequence↗

Blue light-dependent regulation of cytoplasmic ribosomal RNA synthesis in Chlorella.

Effect of blue and red light on ribosomal RNA synthesis in autotrophic synchronous cultures of Chlorella pyrenoidosa (strain 211-8b) is studied by pulse labeling experiments with tritiated guanosine. Nucleic acids were separated by electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels. Compared with darkness and red light (679 nm), blue light (457 nm) of equal quantum flux (0.5-5x10(-10) Einstein cm-2 s-1) stimulates incorporation into ribosomal RNA. This blue light effect is observed in the cytoplasmic ribosomal RNA after 5 min of illumination, whereas the stimulation of chloroplast ribosomal RNA synthesis by blue light appears later. Maturation of chloroplast ribosomal RNA is slower than that of cytoplasmic ribosomal RNA. The blue light effect on the cytoplasmic ribosomal RNA formation does not require chloroplast RNA or protein synthesis as shown by inhibitor studies with rifampicin or lincomycin. The blocking of cytoplasmic protein synthesis by cycloheximide inhibits the blue light effect on ribosomal RNA formation. It is concluded that the cytoplasmic ribosomal RNA transcription is controlled by a blue light sensitive system.

Chlorella↗

Biomass yields of Chlorella from iron (Yx/Fe) in iron-limited batch cultures.

The maximum biomass in iron-limited photosynthetic batch cultures of chlorella increased as the logarithm of the iron concentration. The growth yield from iron (UxFe) showed a marked inverse relation to the specific growth rate. The maximum biomass yield, g dry biomass/g iron consumed, was 7.5 X 10(3) with specific growth rate 0.108h-1; the minimum was 0.79 X 10(3) with specific growth rate 0.145 h-1. The maximum specific growth rate in the exponential phase of Fe limited cultures varied as the initial Fe concentration. Fe-limited growth made the cells adhere to a glass surface.

Chlorella↗

The cryopreservation of Chlorella. 2. Effect of growth temperature on freezing tolerance.

The temperature at which Chlorella 211/8h was grown determined the response to a subsequent stress of freezing to and thawing from-196 degrees C. Cells cultured at 20 degrees C were the most sensitive to freezing injury; at both higher and lower growth temperatures resistance to damage induced by freezing developed. At all culture temperatures examined the freezing tolerance varied with the age of culture.

Cell Membrane Permeability↗